


Incoming Storm

by Javelon



Category: jacksepticeye
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Blizzards & Snowstorms, Car Accidents, Hypothermia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-19 09:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17598428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Javelon/pseuds/Javelon
Summary: Chase gets a call from Stacy to come get the kids while a winter storm blows in





	Incoming Storm

_"Let's look at an overview of the incoming winter storm. This evening we're looking at heavy snow, anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow and very powerful winds pushing that temperature dangerously low."_ The local weatherman was quite serious this evening, quite outside the norm of his usual cheerful attitude.

Chase gave a grimace as the man continued to go on about this storm moving into the area in a couple hours. It sounded like a nasty storm and he was the only one home. JJ was volunteering at Henrik's hospital while Jackie was out most likely at the shelters helping them prepare for the storm and all three would most likely not return until the morning. Marvin, Jack, and Anti were all out of town for a couple weeks so that just left him to weather out the storm in the abnormally quiet Septic house.

The single father sighed before taking a drink of his whiskey as he changed the channel. The one nice thing about being home alone is he could drink in peace without the doctor's lecture or JJ's pitying look. He wasn't drinking as much as he had right after the divorce! Besides it was cold in the house and alcohol was used to keep people warm right? Though he vaguely recalled Henrik lecturing him about drinking myths and that _may_ have been one of them. Something about constricting blood flow to protect organs?

Oh well didn't matter, he wasn't going outside anyway. So there was nothing wrong with him having a drink tonight.

 

_Bzzzt bzzzt_

_Bzzzt bzzzt_

 

A half hour and a couple of drinks into the night Chase's TV watching is interrupted by the buzzing of his phone. His eyes widen when he sees Stacy on the caller ID and quickly answers the phone.

"Stacy?"

"Hey I need you to come get the kids. My parents are worried about this storm so I'm going to their place until it blows over."

"Oh uhh" Chase hesitated as he looked out the window, seeing the snowflakes already falling from the night sky.

"Is that a problem?"

"No! No I can come get them no problem. I'm leaving right now, should be there in 30 minutes."

"Good." _Click_

Chase stared at his phone before shaking himself out of it and grabbing his heavy coat and shoved his sock clad feet into his sandals, not bothering to look for better shoes in his hurry. He really wished Stacy had called a bit sooner but still he was happy he would get to see his kids early so he guessed he shouldn't complain. If he hurried he could get the kids back home before the storm hit if the weatherman was right. Which was good cause Chase's car wasn't really a great vehicle for winter storms. It was a reliable little thing but he knew no vehicle should really be out in winter storms.

Bitter cold wind bit at his skin as he jogged to his vehicle. It took a bit of tugging on the already freezing shut door before Chase could climb inside and start the car, sitting for a moment while the vehicle warmed up. He searched for his gloves while waiting only to curse when he remembered he loaned them to Jackie when the hero's pair were ruined during a patrol. Oh well it wasn't like he was going out in the storm except to get the kids in the car then into his house.

Feeling satisfied the car had sat long enough, Chase carefully made his way out of the driveway and towards Stacy's place, his headlights shining off the snowflakes as they fell.

About ten minutes into the drive and the snow was already coming down harder accompanied by pings of ice bouncing off his car. Chase was glad there didn't seem to be anyone else out on the road with the storm moving in faster than anticipated. By the time he pulled into Stacy's driveway snow was coating the ground and ice was forming on the sidewalks, making it difficult to traverse.

Stacy had apparently been watching for him as she opened the door before he could even knock and his kids jumped into his arms, already bundled up in their winter wear.

"Daddy!" His kids cried as he hugged them tight.

"Hey kiddos! You ready to come stay with dad tonight?"

He grinned at their immediate "Yea!" and looked around for their bags while ushering them into the car.

"Where's their stuff?" He asked Stacy who was gathering her own stuff. He could hear her SUV rumbling in the garage so he knew she was anxious to leave.

"They're only staying the night with you they don't need them. You have stuff for them at your place right?" Stacy replied impatiently while searching for something in her purse.

"Err yea, yea ok." Chase watched her dig through her purse, unsure if he should leave yet.

"Ugh where are my keys?!" Stacy yelled after a minute of digging.

"Um...well it sounds like they could be in your car?" Chase said carefully.

Stacy grunted and turned to go back in the house, "Right. I'll call you when I'm coming to get the kids."

"Alright. Bye Stacy."

A closed door is all that answered him.

Chase stared at the door for a moment before a particularly cold gust of wind rocked him and he quickly climbed back in his warm car.

"Alright little dude and dudette, you guys have your seatbelts on?"

"Yea!" Sammy and Gray replied.

"Hey dad guess what!" Gray immediately said, bouncing in his seat.

Chase glanced up at him through the rearview mirror as he slowly pulled out onto the road, "What's up little dude?"

"You have to guess!" Gray insisted.

Tires spun in place for a moment as Chase shifted into drive and tried to accelerate forward, ice making it difficult for the tires to find purchase on the asphalt, "Hmm let's see, did you finally eat your green beans?"

"Ewww!" Both his kids whined.

Chase laughed, "They're good for you! They make you big and strong!"

His grin widened hearing their exaggerated gagging sounds, "Ok ok. Did yoooooou buy a panda?"

Their laughter warmed his very soul, "You can't buy pandas, dad!"

"You can't? Then how do the people have them on Animal Planet?" Chase teased, his eyes darting side to side over the road as the snow fell harder, creating a mesmerizing affect like traveling through space.

"Those are zookeepers, dad!" Sammy giggled.

Chase lightly smacked his head, causing more laughter in the backseat, "D'oh! Of course, you're so smart Sammy."

His little girl beamed with pride while Gray asked, "Do you give up??"

Chase gave an exaggerated sigh, "I give up. What?"

"I finally unlocked all the characters in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate!" Gray practically yelled in his excitement.

The single father gasped dramatically, covering up his grunt as he fought the wind battering against the car, "No way that's awesome Gray!"

"Hey I helped!" Sammy spoke up.

"Only at a couple parts. I did most of the work." Gray huffed.

"Sammy, that was very nice of you to help your brother. Gray did you at least tell your sister thank you for the parts she helped with?" Chase quickly jumped in to hopefully prevent an argument from breaking out.

Gray ducked his head, "Thank you, Sammy."

"Thank you Gray. Now Sammy what should you say when someone thanks you?"

"You're welcome, Gray." Sammy had a slightly smug grin.

"So tell me your favorite character." Chase quickly switched the topic.

Gray's eyes lit up and he chatted happily away about his favorite fighter and all the different moves it could do with Sammy speaking up occasionally to add her own opinions in.

Halfway home as his kids were debating what the best stage was, the steering wheel jerked from a particularly hard gust of wind that hit the car. Chase tried to correct it but suddenly the world was spinning. Screams of terror made his heart seize up while he tried desperately to get the car back under control. Squealing of rubber against pavement could be heard over his kids followed by a sudden cacophony of noise as the car came to a forceful stop against a tree off the road and then...silence.

Deep, painful gulps of air rushed in and out of Chase's lungs, his knuckles white from his grip on the steering wheel. "You..you guys ok?" He gasped out, swallowing down the curses he wanted to shout.

He turned in his seat as his kids nodded, too shaken up to reply yet, though their eyes shimmered with tears.

"Good. Good. Of course you're fine. You two are the toughest kids I know." Chase tried a bit of humor to ease their fear, tiny grins rewarding his efforts.

Taking another steadying breath Chase turned back around and put his hand on the key.

_Wrrrr wrrrr wrrrr_

_Wrrrr wrrrr wrrrr_

_Wrrrr wrrrr wrrrr_

The car sputtered with each turn of the key but wouldn't start. Panic ate at him as Chase kept trying only to slump down when it was obvious the car wouldn't start.

"Dad? Why won't the car start?" Sammy asked quietly.

"I dunno Sammy." Chase answered quietly back.

"Are we stuck here, dad?" Gray asked.

Chase gave him a small grin, putting on a brave front for his kids, "No no. Just need to see what's up with the engine. You two sit tight."

Bracing himself, Chase grabbed the little flashlight from his glovebox and forced the door open against the wind. It was even colder than it had been when he left his house, not helped at all by the snow and ice pellets raining down on him. His socks quickly grew wet from the melting snow around his feet, making Chase wish he had taken the time to put on different shoes.

It took several tries for his already freezing cold fingers to find the latch that held the hood shut, but even when he opened it Chase didn't know what he was looking for. The engine looked fine to his untrained eyes but obviously something was wrong. Maybe something under the vehicle was wrong?

Chase crouched down with his flashlight and looked under the car but still things looked normal. He knew how to change a tire and the oil of his car but when it came to more difficult stuff the Septics all turned to Anti, surprisingly.

_"How do you know so much about cars, dude?" Chase asked one summer afternoon, watching Anti working under the hood of Henrik's car._

_"It's not hard, Chase. No more complicated than computers, it's just different. Especially newer cars with all their fancy tech." Anti had grunted back while pulling out the older battery, "Make yourself useful and take this will ya?"_

What Chase would give to have Anti here now. Hopefully the glitch could talk him through it over the phone. Chase grunted as he tried to stand back up, cursing under his breath when he slipped and his jeans got covered in snow. Using the car to pull himself upright, Chase pulled out his cell and squinted against the sudden bright light.

Crap his battery was only at 30% and he knew cell batteries went down quickly in freezing temperatures. He quickly dialed Anti's number and held the phone to his ear, hopping from foot to foot to try to warm up a bit.

_"You have reached the voicemail box..."_

Chase grumbled when it went to voicemail and tried the other Septics. Several voicemail boxes later and Chase wanted so much to yell out his frustrations. His ears, fingers, and toes hurt from the cold but he didn't want to get in the car until he had done all he could. He tried one more number, Henrik's office number. It was only for emergencies and Chase figured stuck on the road in a blizzard counted for an emergency.

"Dr. Henrik Schneeplestein's office. This is Linda speaking how can I help you?"

Chase let out a big sigh of relief, "Hey this is Chase Brody calling. I'm uh a family member of Dr. Schneeplestein's. Can I speak with him?"

"I'm sorry Dr. Schneeplestein is in a surgery right now. Can I give him a message?"

Chase's shoulders slumped, "No that's ok. If he's in surgery he'll be awhile. I'm stuck on the side of the road and was hoping he could send help."

"Oh no and in such horrible weather! Let me get you the number of the emergency road service. I'll bet they have a bunch of guys out tonight."

Hope filled Chase, "Please! I'd be so grateful!"

Few minutes later he was finally back inside the car with his kids, though with not as good of news as he was hoping.

A _minimum_ of an hour before the emergency vehicles could get to them. Turns out there were several other people stuck and it was going to take time to reach them. Chase had pleaded with them saying he had his two kids in the car which got him bumped up the list in terms of priority but he wasn't the only one that was stuck with kids. They were just going to have to sit tight.

To make matters worse the temperature had dropped quite a bit in the car alread. Chase could see his kids were obviously cold as he climbed into the backseat with them and pulled them close to him, trying to give them what body heat he had.

"Well kiddos looks like we're in for a bit of a wait. We've got help coming but there's others out there stuck too." Chase explained as he rubbed their arms, grateful they had warm hats and scarves.

"So we have to wait our turn right, dad?" Gray asked, he and Sammy huddling as close as possible to their dad.

Chase smiled at his son, "That's right. So tell me how school's been going. What have you guys been learning?"

Minutes ticked by slowly as Chase tried to keep his kids distracted by asking questions and if he was being honest, distracting himself too. The car rocked as wind buffeted it, the temperature dropping more and more with each gust that blew through the creases in the old car. His muscles ached, he guessed from how badly he was shivering. It was getting harder to rub his hands up and down his kids arms so he opted for holding them in his lap instead as best he could. He had a ratty old blanket on the floor that wasn't big enough for him but it wrapped comfortably around his kids, giving them extra warmth.

"So Gr..Gray ha..have y...y...you unlocked ev...every....one in....Sm...smash...bro..thers?" Chase asked through chattering teeth.

He didn't understand why they looked at him confused.

"Y..yea, dad. I..I.to..told you ab..bout it r..re..mem..ber?"

"O...oh...r...ri...right."

"Y..y..you..ok..d.dad?" Sammy struggled out.

Chase hugged his kids tightly to him. He didn't like them shivering. Why was it so cold?

"I...a...am...fi..fi..fine."

He slowly moved his aching arm to his phone on the car seat. Numb fingers struggled with the device before it finally lit up.

Huh that's weird. His fingers almost looked blue.

Chase shook his head to try and clear it. It was like a fog had settled over his thoughts. Almost like when he drank too much.

His eyes flickered to the battery gauge, 3% glaring back at him in the darkness. Suddenly his phone's provider logo appeared then the phone went black. Chase frowned as he forced his numb fingers to press buttons and make it light up again only for it to remain stubbornly dark.

"W...w...why?"

"I.it's de..dead, d..dad." Sammy seemed concerned.

His little girl shouldn't be concerned about anything. She was too young and...and so precious to him. Gray too. God he loved his kids so much but he was such a terrible father. They were suffering and he couldn't stop it.

"D..dad? W..why are y..you cry...ing?"

God his kids' teeth were still chattering. And he...he was actually warm. Almost too warm. Why was he so warm?

Chase shuffled in his seat, slowly peeling off his coat and wrapping it around his kids, "I...i....it's...o..o.ok. Te...te..te..ll m..me mo..re a...ab...bout..sc...sch..ool."

He hugged his kids again, hoping to transfer his new warmth to them, their voices trickling through his ears.

He wondered if they would hate him after this. Would they hate him for not taking better care of them? For not having a better car? For not getting them home safely by now?

"...d? Da..?"

Stacy would hate him. Not that she didn't hate him already. He didn't blame her. She was right. He was a failure.

"...ad?!"

He would make it up to them. He had to. He'd do anything to show how sorry he was. That he would try harder. Be better.

"...addy?!?"

His thoughts were surprisingly loud for how foggy he felt. Like sirens almost.

"...ir? Can....ou....ar...me?"

Why was he floating? Why is there a light in his eyes? Where are his kids?

"Gr'y....? S'mmy....?"

Darkness enveloping him was the only response he received.

 

* * *

 

 

Henrik let out a weary sigh as he grabbed a new cup of coffee. It had been a long day and he still had several hours to go.

"How'd the surgery go?" A young nurse, Jesse, asked as she waited for her turn at the coffee machine.

"Fine fine. Jus' a broken tibia. Nothin' a couple screws could not fix. Zhey will be fine in a few weeks if zhey stay off ze ice!"

Jesse grinned at him, "After a fall like that I doubt they're eager to walk on an icy sidewalk again."

Henrik hummed in agreement as he took the folder for his next patient. Another case of a young man with frostbite. The doctor shook his head. Young men always seemed to think themselves immortal until they landed in the hospital and learned they might lose their toes.

Henrik waved at the nurse and made his way to the ER room his patient was in. He had his hand on the doorknob when the double doors in the hall burst open, a grim looking team of paramedics coming through. Henrik's heart clenched. He knew that look well. Whoever that poor soul was, was in very bad shape. His heart went out to the family who would likely receive bad news by morning.

He turned back to the door of his patient as the team went by. He had his own patient to worry about now. The doors burst open again, drawing Henrik's attention in surprise then shock when he recognized who came through.

"Uncle Schneep!" Gray and Sammy cried out when they saw him, reaching for him as best they could while the paramedics with them tried to keep the kids on their beds.

"Gray! Sam! What happened?!" Henrik hurried to their side.

"You have to help him, Uncle! He...he wouldn't wake up!" Sammy sobbed as she threw her arms around him.

"What? Who?" Henrik looked to the paramedics around the kids for answers.

Terror gripped him when he heard their twin yells of "Dad!"

One of the paramedics gave him a sympathetic look, "Severe hypothermia. He was unresponsive when we arrived."

The floor seemed to drop out from under the good doctor. The manila folder slipped from his lax fingers, papers scattering as he sprinted down the hallway towards the other patient who had just come through, deaf to the voices yelling out behind him.

_'It can't be him. Bitte. Mein Gott bitte nein!'_

Shoes squeaked on linoleum as he reached the room with the new patient.

_'Oh Gott nein!'_

One of Henrik's worst nightmares had come to life before him. Laying on the bed looking too young and far too still was Chase, his skin white except his fingers and ears which had turned black from frostbite. Only years of experience kept the bile rising up in Henrik at bay.

"CHASE!"

Hands grabbed at him before he could rush to Chase's side.

"Lass miche nicht gehen!" Henrik yelled, his fear causing him to speak in his native tongue.

"There's nothing you can do Dr. Schneeplestein!"

The paramedic from earlier told him. Henrik struggled with the paramedic to reach the young father. He could help him! He had to help him!

A loud alarm started blaring.

He snapped his attention back to the room as the doctor in the room started chest compressions. Henrik froze and could only watch in horror as they tried to restart Chase's heart. His own chest ached when the cracking of rib bones reached his ears.

Organ failure was the last step in severe hypothermia before...

'Nein! Gott bitte!'

Too long. It had been too long. No no no this wasn't supposed to happen. Chase had survived a bullet in the head! How could the cold be stealing him away?!

Tears streamed down the doctor's face when the announcement came that he dreaded but knew was coming.

"Time of death..."

A loud wail of sorrow echoed through the hospital's halls.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I used Google translate for the German parts so I hope they're accurate.
> 
>  
> 
> "Bitte. Mein Gott bitte nein!" - "Please! My God please no!"
> 
> "Oh Gott nein!" - "Oh God no!"
> 
> "Lass miche nicht gehen!" - "No let me go!"
> 
> "Nein! Gott bitte!" - "No! God please!"


End file.
